Agnostiq’s William Cunningham on the Future of Quantum & AI Integration

Insider Brief

• William Cunningham of Agnostiq is leading efforts to integrate quantum computing with AI and high-performance computing (HPC), aiming to simplify access and usage of these advanced technologies.
• At the Q2B24 event, Cunningham highlighted Agnostiq’s mission to democratize advanced computing, making it easy for users to build innovative applications.
• Agnostiq’s new tool, Coent, addresses the challenges of managing diverse computing resources, unifying them to streamline the deployment of AI and quantum applications.

William Cunningham, Agnostiq’s Head of High-Performance Computing, is leading a new era of quantum computing. At the recent Q2B24 event in Tokyo, Cunningham spoke about how Agnostiq is at the forefront of integrating quantum computing with AI and HPC to unlock unprecedented possibilities for next-generation applications. He began by discussing the rapid evolution of computing technologies.

“In the past 10 to 15 years, we’ve seen GPUs become commonplace in supercomputers,” he said. “In the next decade, I believe we’ll see quantum processing units (QPUs) integrated just as seamlessly.” This integration is key to creating more versatile and powerful computational tools.

At the heart of Agnostiq’s mission is simplifying access to these advanced technologies. 

“It’s not just about providing users with access to AI, HPC and quantum computing. It’s about making these technologies so easy to use and reconfigure that users can start building applications that were previously unimaginable,” Cunningham said. 

The goal of this approach is to democratize advanced computing so that more people can use it to its full potential. Management is one of the greatest challenges in a heterogeneous computing environment.

On this, Cunningham noted: “Traditionally, HPC admins managed a fairly straightforward setup. But with the introduction of quantum devices and the ever-growing diversity of computing resources, we now face a fragmented orchestration layer that needs to be unified.” Agnostiq’s solution lies in creating tools that bridge this gap, allowing seamless interaction between different computing layers.

Agnostiq’s latest tool, Coent, is designed to tackle these challenges head-on, it seems.

“Coent is built from the ground up with the complexities of modern computing in mind. It unifies disparate resources and provides features that allow users to focus on their applications rather than the underlying hardware,” Cunningham explained. 

This innovation promises to simplify the deployment of AI and quantum applications, making it easier for researchers to transition from experimentation to production.

Looking ahead, Cunningham sees a future where advanced computing is fully democratized. 

“We’re not just harnessing these resources by making them available; we’re making them so incredibly easy to use that users can build applications we haven’t even dreamed of yet,” said Cunningham. This vision sets Agnostiq apart as a leader in the integration of quantum computing with AI and HPC, driving the industry towards a more innovative and accessible future.